Better Hack #5: Be your own mechanic. Cars really aren't that complicated - especially for smart hacker folk like us. I did maintenance on my parents vehicles when I was 12 years old (brakes + oil changes) and have been working on my own vehicles since I could drive. In the past 7 years, I have only spent money on alignments and tire mounting/balancing, to the tune of $300 probably. The kicker is that I'm no more mechanically inclined than anybody else. I learn every time I pick up a wrench, with a bit of help from the good ol' internet. The experience is unbelievably fun and rewarding :)